Jeremy graded on a sliding curve at 'fanfest'

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, February 10, 2002

Baseball's offseason is supposed to mean rest and relaxation for players. But for Jeremy Giambi, the winter has been anything but tranquil.

The A's designated hitter had to deal with all the hoopla over his brother Jason's protracted negotiations with the Yankees, and then watch as his sibling choose New York over Oakland. The younger Giambi also weathered a run- in with the law that week.

Then there's the issue of The Non-Slide in Game 3 of the division series against the Yankees, a play which was trumpeted as the turning point when New York went on to win that game 1-0 and then captured the next two games to end Oakland's season. The much discussed incident, in which Giambi went into home standing up and was erased when Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter made an out-of- nowhere run-and-grab on the baseline, might go down as one of the more notorious plays in A's history.

So when Giambi sat down for a question-and-answer session with the public during the A's "fanfest" yesterday at the Coliseum, the cry of "Slide! Slide!" went up repeatedly. Giambi gamely responded to a question about his decision, saying, "I think it was a big play, but that's what kind of player Jeter is, to be able to make plays you don't expect."

In an interview beforehand, Giambi addressed the topic further. "People can say what they want," he said. "Maybe I should have slid. But that's the decision I made. Maybe it was the wrong one, but we're all human. Jeter made an unbelievable play in a spot he probably shouldn't have been."

Jeremy Giambi signed a jersey for a fan while teammate Chad Harville (right) waited for fans to line up for his autograph. The Oakland Athletics' annual Fanfest celebration at the Coliseum kicked off the team's 2002 baseball season.
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Jeremy Giambi signed a jersey for a fan while teammate Chad Harville (right) waited for fans to line up for his autograph. The Oakland Athletics' annual Fanfest celebration at the Coliseum kicked off the team's ... more

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Jeremy graded on a sliding curve at 'fanfest'

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Giambi again explained, as he did last fall, that he went in standing up because he thought he was going to have to try to take out catcher Jorge Posada if there was a play at the plate, but Posada had to wait so long for Jeter to dash to the ball, he didn't even turn around until the very last second. "Sometimes you have to give other players credit," Giambi said.

During "fanfest," a season kickoff for fans, Giambi managed to crack some smiles when the crowd booed his big brother for leaving, but earlier, he admitted Jason's departure was difficult for him. "It's going to be different, " he said. "It was great being here for two years with Jason. But I love him, and he had to do what was in his best interest. And maybe this is an opportunity to get out of Jason's shadow, step up, grow up and mature."

Another incident may have contributed to that development process. In mid- December, he was stopped at the airport in Las Vegas for marijuana possession, a minor infraction. The matter has since been dropped, but not before making a lasting impression on Giambi.

"It happened, it was a mistake, and the consequences were more embarrassing than anything else," he said. "But it was a big wake-up call."

Now, Giambi is doing all he can to take charge of his life and his career. He's 27, the same age his brother was when he really began to make strides as a big-league hitter, and Jeremy probably will play every day in the bigs for the first time. In preparation, Giambi is working out four hours a day, six days a week, with fitness guru Mark Verstegen in Phoenix, and he is also hitting two hours a day. He has dropped 10 or 12 pounds, gained muscle and improved his speed, flexibility and balance.

"I felt like this is what I needed to do to establish myself," Giambi said. "And I feel great."

NOTES: Third baseman Eric Chavez strained a back muscle lifting weights three weeks ago and said that while he has been able to continue to hit and work out, he still cannot take groundballs. He believes he will be fully recovered by the start of spring training. . . . Right fielder Jermaine Dye, who is recovering from a broken left tibia, said he is walking on a treadmill but has not started running yet. He has resumed all other baseball activity, including hitting and throwing, and anticipates being able to play in the final three weeks of spring games. . . . The "fanfest" drew more than 26,000 fans.